James DeGale and Badou Jack are headlining the Barclays Center on January 14, but there are other big fights happening on that card, including Jose Pedraza vs. Gervonta Davis for a world super featherweight title.
Davis is a Floyd Mayweather protege, coming into this fight with a 16-0 record with 15 knockouts. This will be his first attempt at a world title.
Speaking at the pre-fight press conference, Pedraza said he was well prepared coming out of training camp. He said he spent a lot of time sparring with guys whose style resemble that of Davis.
"He's a great fighter, very talented and has an impressive record, but I'm the champion," Pedraza said, which was met with a loud pop from the crowd at the Highline Ballroom where the press conference took place. “I'm ready for this fight. I've had a long and intense camp."
Pedraza had told Fightful.com before the fight that he is moving up in weight after the fight against Davis, hoping to get a unification bout at lightweight. Pedraza admired the young fighter’s impressive resume, but also said Davis has yet to fight someone of Pedraza’s caliber.
"He’s fought D and C level guys and I’m prepared to go the full 12 rounds, while he’s only trying to end the fight quickly," Pedraza said. "That’ll give me an advantage.”
Both men are the co-main event of a Showtime Championship Boxing televised card. Fightful will have complete coverage of the card from Barclays Center, with Jack vs. DeGale headline a super middleweight world title unification bout.
